Tag Archives: Contempt of Court

Politics, US

Rep. Nunes Aiming to Hold AG Sessions in Contempt for Ignoring Subpoena

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Washington, D.C. – House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, talking with Sunday on Fox and Friends, said he will “move quickly to hold the attorney general of the United States in contempt.”

After Nunes initially sent a letter to Sessions two weeks ago requesting classified information regarding counterintelligence investigations and FISA abuses, which he said was not acknowledged by the Department of Justice, Nunes followed up with a subpoena last week.

Nunes’ warning about holding Sessions in contempt comes in response to Attorney General Sessions’ refusal to comply with that subpoena.

On Thursday “we discovered that they are not going to comply with our subpoena,” he said. While the House intelligence chairman didn’t specify the exact information he was seeking from the DOJ, he called it “very important” information.

The official Justice Department letter refusing to comply with Nunes subpoena was shared with the Washington Examiner, and explained:

“After careful evaluation and following consultations with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the White House, the Department has determined that, consistent with applicable law and longstanding Executive Branch policy, it is not in a position to provide information responsive to your request regarding a specific individual,” Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd wrote in the letter.

Holding an attorney general in contempt is not without precedent, as the Washington Examiner reported that Congress voted in 2012 to hold then-AG Eric Holder in contempt for “not complying with the investigation into the Obama administration’s Operation Fast and Furious, which included gun trafficking across the border.”

Nunes explained that holding Sessions in contempt is the cumulative result of repeatedly being stifled by the DOJ in procuring information and documentation relating to the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation into government surveillance relating to politicized FISA abuses in surveilling Trump campaign officials.

The California congressman said he’s not going to take any “excuse” that relates to alleged concerns about national security, asking “How many times have we heard this argument throughout this investigation?”

Civil Liberties, US

Kentucky Clerk Appeals Contempt Of Court Ruling Over Refusing Marriage Licenses

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A Kentucky clerk who was jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses has filed a federal appeal against the contempt of court order, stating that her right to due process has been violated.

Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis stopped issuing marriage licenses altogether after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states in June. She was then sued by two gay couples and two straight couples.

U.S. District Judge David Bunning ordered Davis to issue marriage licenses and she continued to refuse, even after the Supreme Court ruled against her emergency order on Aug. 31, when she cited that the order violated her religious beliefs.

[RELATED: SCOTUS: Kentucky Clerk Must Issue Same Sex Marriage Licenses Despite Religious Beliefs]

Bunning ruled that Davis was in contempt of court for defying his order, and he sent her to jail on Thursday, noting that she could be released if she chose to begin issuing marriage licenses.

“The court cannot condone the willful disobedience of its lawfully issued order,” Bunning said. “If you give people the opportunity to choose which orders they follow, that’s what potentially causes problems.”

[RELATED: Federal Judge Throws Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis In Jail]

The three-page federal appeal, which was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati, stated that due to the fact that Davis had no previous knowledge that she would be jailed, as the plaintiffs in the case were only seeking a fine, Judge Bunning violated her right to due process.

Mathew Staver, the founder of the Liberty Counsel and one of Davis’ attorneys, called the case “a charade,” and said Bunning appeared to have a “previous intention to incarcerate” Davis, even before the contempt of court motion was heard.

“Ms. Davis had no notice of it. The plaintiffs had no notice of it,” Staver said. “Without proper notice or proper due process, he decided to incarcerate her.”